120 yearshave passed since we last discovered that human activity could be causing climate change.

Between then and now, a lot have changed but the future for mankind remains uncertain. But one thing for certain; global warming didn’t happen overnight. Here we take a look at the timeline of global warming from its first discovery to the challenges faced today and the future implications if no firm action is taken.

The Industrial Revolution (1700s)

The Industrial Revolution began in the 1700s in Britain, before spreading to the rest of the world, starting with the United States. During this era, machinery and mass production were popular phrases spoken on a daily basis. The use of machinery and factories led to mass production, which in turn led to the development of numerous environmental hazards.

The Industrial Revolution was a major turning point in Earth’s ecology. It dramatically affect human development, health and life longevity, social improvements and natural resources, public health, energy usage and sanitation. The Industrial Revolution was mainly propelled by fossil fuel combustion that forever change the way we live and utilize energy. This progression in lifestyle and technology came with an extraordinary costs to our environment, and ultimately to the health of all living things.

Did You Know?

During Industrial Revolution, pollutants from factories and home fireplaces mixed with air condensation killed at least 4,000 people in London over the course of several days. Severe industrial air pollution created a deadly smog that asphyxiated 20 people in Donora, Pennsylvania, and made 7,000 more sick.

While coal and other fossil fuels were taken for granted as being inexhaustible, it was American geophysicist M. King Hubbert who predicted in 1949 that the fossil fuel era would be very short-lived and that other energy sources would need to be relied upon.

While the Industrial Revolution began as a positive change for the industrial world, there is no question that it wreaked havoc on the environment. The depletion of natural resources, the carbon emissions, pollution and human health problems that have resulted directly from the Industrial Revolution’s accomplishments have only been disastrous for the world environment.

First Discovery (1800s)

In 1896, Svante Arrhenius (1859 – 1927), a Swedish scientist, discovered a possible link between fossil fuel combustion and the eventual enhanced global warming. Fossil fuel combustion, especially during the Industrial Revolution, would lead to a sharp increase in the atmospheric carbon dioxide level. The increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide level would lead to the increase in temperature, which gave rise to the theory of global warming.

He and Thomas Chamberlin also found that human activities could warm the earth by adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

Did You Know?

After the discoveries of Arrhenius and Chamberlin the topic was forgotten for a very long time. At that time it was thought than human influences were insignificant compared to natural forces, such as solar activity and ocean circulation.

In the 1980s, due to excessive fuel combustion, the global mean temperatures began to rise, and scientists began to look into the possibility of an upcoming new ice age. The situation worsened in the late 1980s, as temperatures hiked to an all-time high that many began to revisit the theory of global warming to explain this unnatural phenomenon.

Global warming eventually became a hotly debated topic, spelled out in major headlines for mainstream newspapers worldwide. Pictures of smoke stags were put next to pictures of melting ice caps and flood events. Various media outlets, NGOs and political movement began to advocate for global environment protection to prevent any further degradation on the environment. People’s attention shifted and many started to believe that they were on the edge of a significant climate change that has many negative impacts on our world today.

Did You Know?

The Worldwatch Institute, an environmental research organization, calls the '90s 'the turnaround decade' in which people will either stop polluting or face an environmental disaster as devastating as nuclear war.

The greater awareness for greenhouse effect theory began to surface in the 1990s, when global reports, date sets and model outcomes were tainted with uncertainties. The general public believed that the measurements were not carried out correctly and that data from oceans was missing.

From 1998 onwards the terminology on the greenhouse effect started to change as a result of media influences. The greenhouse effect as a term was used fewer and fewer and people started to refer to the theory as either global warming or climate change.

Global Warming Is Happening Now (2000s)

Our planet is warming – from North Pole to South Pole, indicating an impending change to our ecosystem. Global warming, while not a new issue, is often overlooked by many. Many may not be well aware of the global warming impacts and how critical we are in reaching the “danger zone” as our planet continues to suffer in silence.

Did You Know?

The globally averaged temperature over land and ocean surfaces for 2014 was the highest among all years since record keeping began in 1880.

The harmful domino effects brought on by global warming can be felt everywhere on Earth, leading to a series of harms that bring about rising temperature and sea level, damaged ecosystem, and great danger to mankind and natural environment.

Some impacts from increasing temperatures are already happening.

Ice cap melting. This also includes mountain glaciers, ice sheets covering West Antarctica and Greenland, and Arctic sea ice.

Endanger wildlife. Researcher Bill Fraser has tracked the decline of the Adélie penguins on Antarctica, where their numbers have fallen from 32,000 breeding pairs to 11,000 in 30 years.

Over the last century, sea level rise became faster.

Some butterflies, foxes, and alpine plants have moved farther north or to higher, cooler areas.

Precipitation (rain and snowfall) has increased across the globe, on average.

Spruce bark beetles have boomed in Alaska thanks to 20 years of warm summers. The insects have chewed up 4 million acres of spruce trees.

Other effects could happen later this century, if warming continues.

Sea levels are expected to rise between 7 and 23 inches (18 and 59 centimeters) by the end of the century, and continued melting at the poles could add between 4 and 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters).

Hurricanes and other storms are likely to become stronger.

Species that depend on one another may become out of sync. For example, plants could bloom earlier than their pollinating insects become active.

Floods and droughts will become more common. Rainfall in Ethiopia, where droughts are already common, could decline by 10 percent over the next 50 years.

Less fresh water will be available. If the Quelccaya ice cap in Peru continues to melt at its current rate, it will be gone by 2100, leaving thousands of people who rely on it for drinking water and electricity without a source of either.

We have all seen how global warming slowly lead to climate change, and how many freak disasters have torn down houses, wiped out community and left millions in tears. Yet, many of us are living in silence, thinking that these changes are far-reaching and don’t affect their lives – but this is wrong. Global warming and climate changes affect every one of us – including you.

This event will be a beginning of a long journey towards a greener Earth. This is our home, and we have the rights to protect it. We believe in environmental protection and sustainability. We are here to help. And here’s how you can help the planet– by helping us.

Trees are the main oxygen contributor for mankind. Massive felling of trees will cut down the oxygen level on Earth and at the same time, increase the percentage of carbon dioxide, which leads to global warming.

Glacier’s Retreat

Yosemite National Park’s Lyell Glaciers around the world are shrinking and some even disappeared over the 20th century due to the world that is rapidly warming.

ISRAEL RUSSELL, USGS; KEENAN TAKAHASHI, NPS

NASA EARTH OBSERVATORY

Tornado damage in Louisville, Miss. Apr. 29, 2014. As many as 41 tornadoes struck the U.S. midsection in the last days of April. https://www.flickr.com/photos/thenationalguard/14045604976/

Indonesian capital city of Jakarta paralyzed by flood

People wade through flood waters in Jakarta, Indonesia, Jan. 17, 2013. The Indonesian capital city of Jakarta was paralyzed by flood on Thursday following a massive downpour since Wednesday night, with its main roads inundated, public transport disrupted and operation of government offices and private sector coming to a standstill. (Xinhua/Veri Sanovri)
http://en.people.cn/102774/8097033.html

Infectious diseases

The world is in the warming now, the concentration level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is rapidly increasing due to fossil fuel burnings and deforestation, and have caused the increase in temperature around the globe. What are the consequences of global warming? How it affects our live and our environment?

Diseases relayed by mosquitoes - such as malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever and several kinds of encephalitis - are among those eliciting the greatest concern as the world warms. Mosquitoes acquire disease-causing microorganisms when they take a blood meal from an infected animal or person. Then the pathogen reproduces inside the insects, which may deliver disease-causing doses to the next individuals they bite.

RARE VIRUS: Nipah Virus"In January and February 2004, 47 people in Bangladesh became infected with Nipah virus in two outbreaks; 35 of them died (74% mortality rate). Infectious disease specialists were already familiar with the deadly Nipah virus. In 1998-1999 in Nipah, Malaysia, and soon after in Singapore, people began developing brain inflammation (encephalitis), and in many cases this quickly progressed to coma and death. In all, 265 people were infected and 105 of them died (40% mortality rate)."

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